Enfield opens new center for distance learning

Sept. 24, 2020 | Miasha Lee

ERfC staff member Caitlyn Passmore helping students in the DLC.
Photo Credit: Danielle Flaherty

ENFIELD, CT – Superintendent Christopher Drezek in collaboration with Town Manager Christopher Bromson are partnering with Educational Resources for Children, Inc (ERfC) on a new distance learning center located at the Enfield Annex.

"It's a high-quality program that children can take part of while we're in the circumstances that we're in," Drezek explained.

The ERfC Distance Learning Center (DLC) provides enrichment activities and homework support for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. It is available five days a week from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and will be open on all non-federal holidays.

ERfC is a nonprofit organization teaming up with schools to provide on-school time resources for Enfield families since 1994.

Executive director Claire Hall said, "The DLC is a brand-new program. It came about as everyone in town was trying to figure out what's going to happen with school this year.” She continued, "Our goal with the distance learning center is to make sure children are getting their academic support and that they're actually going through school with their classroom teacher."

As reopening plans were setting in place, Drezek said he realized if they were able to go back to any type of in-person learning, a lot of their parents would have concerns given that their children were not going to be in school five days a week.

"When their children are required to remote learning at home that's three days a week," Drezek said. "It makes it challenging for parents to have child care for their children on those days and continue with their own employment."

Another issue Drezek explained he felt was overlooked was their teachers and staff members being in the same predicament as parents whose professions are not teaching. In particular, he felt those teachers and staff members that are going back on a hybrid model were overlooked. These individuals are required to be in their buildings four days a week, and the entire district works remotely on Wednesdays. Over 20 staff members told Drezek they weren't able to return to work because they have their own children to care for.

Though Drezek didn't have the ability to open a center on his own, he knew Hall could, and immediately contacted her.

"Claire has been a great partner with us for so many years," Drezek said. "She's been known to work miracles in a very short period of time. If anybody could pull it off for us it would be her and were very grateful that she did."

The biggest hurdle was finding a physical location for Hall to develop this program.

In working with the town manager, Bromson was very involved in the planning, Drezek explained.

Over the course of one week, the town’s Department of Public Works worked relentlessly to prepare 15 classrooms at the Annex for the DLC's opening on Sept. 8.

Teachers and town employers were first to enter into the distance learning center to enroll their children. Now, the center is able to be open for the Enfield community.

Enfield parent Michelle Maynard enrolled her 6-year-old son into the center after she saw an advertisement on Facebook. Her husband works full-time, she explained, and has no flexibility with his job to stay home to assist their son. Although she owns her child care center, Maynard isn't accepting school age children at this time.

She said, "My husband and I feel that DLC has helped our family tremendously. When we get home from work, we can enjoy time as a family. We don’t have to spend our nights playing catch up with our sons' assignments/homework. We’re very thankful for ERfC Distance Learning Center. They’ve been a great help to our son and family."

Michelle Nicol is a first-grade teacher at the Enfield Street School. She wanted her sixth grade daughter to have the structure of a school day and be held accountable for her work. Since her first day, Nicol stated this has been a positive experience for her daughter.

"I truly appreciate Superintendent Drezek for supporting his staff by working with the ERfC to support our families by ensuring that while we educate our Enfield students, we have a place at the DLC for our children to find academic success,” Nicol said.

The center allows students to work remotely with their teachers and classmates using iPads daily. Two ERfC staff members will guide and assist students with distance learning in small groups of ten.  A school day begins at 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and the after school program is from 3 to 6 p.m.

"Every grade level has a different teacher," Hall stated. "Every school has a different teacher and a different program we're finding for virtual learning. Some children are signed in and teachers have a different schedule. They break early or later for lunch so we accommodate whatever is going on."

Right now, DLC is providing literacy, recreational and enrichment activities such as STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), arts and craft and community service projects, as well as following all the safety protocols set by the state of Connecticut, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Enfield Public Schools and their local Board of Health.

The staff wears masks and shields every day working with the children. All children are mandated to wear a mask, which Hall said they've had no problems with.

She replied, "Students are engaged and busy. They're pretty happy there and it's working out very well." She went on to say, “The DLC is used in place and will grow to service the Enfield community. We want to keep and improve the support of the classroom teachers."

Hall revealed she would like to see 150 children at the center safely working. As schools settle down, Hall will have more conversations with teachers and principals in making sure they're reaching all children.

"Claire has gone above and beyond to make sure it's not a warehouse where we keep children there so their parents can go to work," Drezek concluded. "It's an opportunity for students to stay engaged in what we’re doing for the schools and enhance that engagement for those students who need it. I couldn't be happier with what we've been able to do so far."

For more information on enrollment, contact Marie O’Hara at 860-253-9935 or mohara@erfc.us.

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